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#Exhibit of the Month

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The ceramic vessel set was discovered accidentally in October 2025 in the southwestern part of the village of Bălceana, Hâncești District, approximately 1.2 km from the Lăpușnița River. The archaeological materials were recovered by the National Archaeological Agency.

The ceramic assemblage consists of a large storage vessel (pithos) with a capacity of 20 litres (h = 39.2 cm; d = 35.0 cm), decorated with a raised band below the rim; a medium-sized bowl with a capacity of 2.5 litres (h = 16.9 cm; d = 23.2 cm); a medium-sized jug with a capacity of 0.6 litres (h = 12.0 cm; d = 13.4 cm); and the base of a jar-shaped vessel.

The coarse handmade pottery was produced using the coil-building technique, by stacking and shaping coils of clay prepared from a paste tempered with crushed fired clay (grog) and sand. The vessel surfaces are uneven and covered with a yellowish-red slip featuring black patches, while the core of the vessel walls is black in colour.

The three vessels preserved intact display well-defined biconical shapes, with their maximum diameter at the middle of the body and straight or slightly oblique rims with rounded edges. Pottery of this type is characteristic of the Early Medieval cultural area of the northern and northwestern Black Sea region, dating from the 5th to the 7th centuries. East of the Dniester River, on the territory of present-day Ukraine, analogous pottery is found in Penkovka-type settlements, while in the Carpathian-Dniester region it is characteristic of settlements belonging to the Costișa-Botoșana-Hansca cultural group.

Within the Prut-Dniester region, coarse biconical pottery is generally represented by fragments and only relatively rarely by complete vessels, such as those discovered at Hansca, Dănceni, Recea, Seliște, Păhărniceni, and other sites. This type of pottery constituted an indispensable component of the local material culture during the 5th-7th centuries. In this context, the discovery at Bălceana of an almost intact set of coarse biconical vessels represents a relatively rare find of considerable scientific importance.

According to certain hypotheses, the tradition of coarse biconical pottery dating to the 5th-7th centuries originated in the North Pontic region. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that these biconical ceramic vessels were the result of contemporary ethnocultural interactions, developing simultaneously across the vast territory extending from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dnieper River and the Seversky Donets.

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Events Archive

Charity event at the art exhibition

April 6, 2022

On Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at the National Museum of History of Moldova, the Hospices of Hope Moldova and the Embassy of Ukraine in Chisinau organized a charity reception entitled "For Ukraine - Charity Reception", which was attended by officials, ambassadors, businessmen, artists of Ukrainian origin , refugees in the Republic of Moldova. The event benefited from an artistic program offered by Igor Znatakov, the chief conductor of the V. Vasilko Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater in Odessa, together with his family. Olesea Shevchenko, wife of the Ambassador of Ukraine in Chisinau, president of the non-profit organization International Women's Club of Moldova, gave an extraordinary recital of Ukrainian songs.

 

 

 

His Excellency the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova Mr. Marko Shevchenko thanked the participants and the hosts. Among the donators within the event was also the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, who took part in the action and delivered a message of compassion and hope.

The event was also supported by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, who sent a message of gratitude to the organizers and citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

Livia Sîrbu, Deputy Director for Public Relations of NMHM, Alexandru Argint, Deputy Director for Administration of NMHM, Lara Moraru, Executive Director of Hospices of Hope Moldova, George Teodorescu, Director of Mixbook Moldova, gave speeches of thanks and welcome.

Funds were raised to an account on the website www.hospicesofhope.md, through a silent auction during the event and an auction with the announcement of prices. The exhibition opened in the ground floor hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova will end on April 14, and the final amounts will be announced on April 20.

The National Museum of History of Moldova is honored to be among the partners of this charity event, being open to contribute at any time to the promotion of actions in support of refugees and other socially vulnerable categories. The National Museum of History of Moldova is a promoter of peace and peaceful coexistence between peoples. Moldova for Peace!



 

 


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Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
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Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
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Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
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#Exhibit of the Month

The ceramic vessel set was discovered accidentally in October 2025 in the southwestern part of the village of Bălceana, Hâncești District, approximately 1.2 km from the Lăpușnița River. The archaeological materials were recovered by the National Archaeological Agency...

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC